Education

A core leg of the Exchange: curated partner teaching on covers, bringing livestock back, managed grazing, silvopasture, and shrinking diesel and fertilizer. We summarize and credit; the full piece lives on the author's site.

50 resources from OSU, Penn State, Kentucky, WVU, SARE, OEFFA, and Stratford — lined up with FarmTec / Stinner fossil-fuel themes.

Theme

All themes Cover crops & forage Integrating livestock Cutting fossil-fuel inputs Managed grazing Equipment & on-farm energy Silvopasture

Less diesel, fertilizer N, and mechanical harvest through grazing, no-till, and input efficiency.

Source

All partners OSU Extension (14)Penn State Ext. (13)UK Extension (5)WVU Extension (4)SARE (4)OEFFA (6)Stratford (4)

Cutting fossil-fuel inputs

21 resources

Do Cover Crops Grown for Feed Need Fertilizer?
Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter · OSU Extension · December 2019
Authors: Christine Gelley
Argues strip-grazing covers beats mechanical harvest for nutrient return and machinery cost, and when soil tests plus livestock redeposit mean fertilizer can stay off.
Cover crops & forageIntegrating livestockCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Stockpiling Cool-Season Grasses with Fall Nitrogen
Ohioline · Ohio State University Extension · June 2025
Authors: Ted Wiseman and Dan Lima
Tall fescue stockpile for late fall and winter: when to shut the gate, N timing/rate, clover dilutions, and strip-grazing a three-day allocation to roughly double grazing days vs. continuous access.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
IDEAS Crop and Livestock Integration Project
Agroecosystem Management Program · The Ohio State University
Authors: Doug Jackson-Smith, Marilia Chiavegato, Ryan Haden, Steve Lyon, Ajay Shah, and Cassandra Brown
On-farm study across eight Ohio counties comparing modes of crop–livestock integration; perennials and manure stood out for soil biological health. Team is building Extension recommendations from the work.
Integrating livestockCover crops & forageCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
A more efficient harvest (hybrid tractor research)
The Ohio State University · Center for Automotive Research · January 2026
Authors: Center for Automotive Research and Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
OSU automotive / FABE work on hybrid off-road tractors — full battery packs still struggle at high horsepower; hybrids cut fuel use up to about 21% in tested duty cycles.
Equipment & on-farm energyCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Potential to Integrate Grazing into No-Till Systems
Penn State Extension · Updated September 2025
Authors: Sjoerd W. Duiker and Jessica A. Williamson
Perennial–annual rotations, grazed covers, and residue grazing on continuous no-till — grazed forage often costs half or less of machine-harvested feed, with no manure-spreading pass.
Integrating livestockCover crops & forageCutting fossil-fuel inputsManaged grazing
Read on the source site
Stockpile Grazing and Soil Health
Penn State Extension
Authors: Sjoerd W. Duiker
Rest cool-season perennials 60–70 days before frost, then winter-graze the standing feed — with notes on puddling risk and how biology repairs surface compaction.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Extending the Grazing Season – Stockpiling Pastures for Fall Grazing
Penn State Extension
Authors: Jessica A. Williamson
Defer grazing from late July/early August, choose stockpile-friendly species (tall fescue, brome, birdsfoot trefoil), and cut winter hay/hauling costs for 2–3 months.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Tips to save farmers money on fuel and fertilizer
Penn State University · College of Agricultural Sciences · May 2026
Authors: Andrew Frankenfield
Practical diesel cuts: gear up / throttle down, match tractor to the job, economy PTO, kill idle, and continuous no-till (~3.6 gal/acre less fuel). Cover legumes credit 30–40 lb N/acre.
Cutting fossil-fuel inputsEquipment & on-farm energyCover crops & forage
Read on the source site
Natural gas-powered tractor for ag science research at Penn State
Penn State University
Authors: Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and CNH / New Holland
New Holland T6.180 methane tractor on campus for tillage, planting, haying, and Extension teaching — an alternative path off diesel where digester or landfill gas is available.
Equipment & on-farm energyCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Cover Crops for Livestock Grazing
Penn State Extension · Updated November 2025
Authors: David Hartman
Decision guide for grazing covers in a cash-crop rotation: fencing and wet soils, cattle class, why annuals alone rarely beat perennials for cows, and diverse mixes that cut hay bills while building soil.
Cover crops & forageIntegrating livestockManaged grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Strategies for Extending the Grazing Season
Penn State Extension · Updated November 2025
Authors: Marvin H. Hall and Jerry Jung
Stockpile tall fescue and birdsfoot trefoil, then add fall growers — prairie grass, brassicas, and small grains — for 60–90 extra grazing days and less stored feed, diesel, and labor.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputsCover crops & forage
Read on the source site
Stockpiling Tall Fescue
UK Master Grazer · University of Kentucky Extension
Authors: Ray Smith, Christopher Teutsch, and Jeff Lehmkuhler
Every day on stockpiled fescue saves hay, labor, and equipment — quality holds through frost better than most cool-season grasses; strip-graze for maximum days.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Rotational Grazing (ID-143)
University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension
Authors: Ray Smith, Garry Lacefield, Roy Burris, David Ditsch, Bob Coleman, Jeff Lehmkuhler, and Jimmy Henning
Classic UK Cooperative Extension bulletin: rotational grazing cuts machinery, fuel, and facility cost while improving utilization, waste distribution, and season length.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Extending Grazing and Reducing Stored Feed Needs (AGR-199)
University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension
Authors: Don Ball, Ed Ballard, Mark Kennedy, Garry Lacefield, and Dan Undersander
Southern Extension classic: warm-/cool-season mixes, stockpile math (~80 cow-days/acre at 70% efficiency), crop residue, dormant alfalfa, and strip grazing to shrink hay dependence.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputsIntegrating livestock
Read on the source site
A Quick Guide to Pasture and Grazing Management
WVU Extension Service · July 2017
Authors: Ed Rayburn
Three principles — fertility, timing/intensity, and matching forage supply to demand. Move at 8–12 inches in and 2–4 inches out; never leave animals on a paddock more than seven days.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Pasture Management (resource hub)
WVU Extension
Authors: WVU Extension
Index of WVU pasture sheets: fencing, watering, stockpile, stocking rate, plate meters, and extending the grazing season to cut stored-feed costs.
Managed grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Let’s Talk! Integrating Crops & Livestock (infographic narrative)
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) · 2022
Authors: Green Lands Blue Waters and SARE
Spectrum from hauling cover forage to temporary fence and in-field grazing — grazing cuts fuel, equipment wear, and manure-handling compared with mechanical harvest and feedlot feeding.
Integrating livestockCover crops & forageCutting fossil-fuel inputsManaged grazing
Read on the source site
Maximizing Integrated Crop & Livestock Systems Value
SARE / Green Lands Blue Waters · August 2022
Authors: Laura Paine, Amy Fenn, Jane Jewett, and Erin Meier
Midwest Forage Association piece from a SARE-funded project: grazing aftermath and covers saves stored feed, labor, and manure handling that enterprise accounting often misses.
Integrating livestockCutting fossil-fuel inputsCover crops & forage
Read on the source site
Grazing Cover Crops (Managing Cover Crops Profitably, Ch. 12)
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
Authors: SARE
SARE chapter on why grazing is often the fastest path to making covers pay: cool- and warm-season windows, MiG moves that limit trampling, and how manure and saliva feed soil biology while cutting hay dependence.
Integrating livestockCover crops & forageManaged grazingCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
2026 National Cover Crop Survey Report
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) · 2026
Authors: SARE, CTIC, and ASTA
About one in three cover-crop users grazed or fed covers; 77% of those graziers said it improved profitability. Survey highlights fencing, water, and virtual fence as the next barriers to scale.
Cover crops & forageIntegrating livestockCutting fossil-fuel inputs
Read on the source site
Life on the farm: no-till drill, roller/crimper, and pasture dividers
Stratford Ecological Center · May 2023
Authors: Pauline Scott and Farmer Jeff
Pauline Scott’s farm journal: permanent pasture dividers for better grazing patterns, early season clover/alfalfa grazing, and a donated Great Plains no-till drill plus roller/crimper so Farmer Jeff can plant into covers without tillage.
Managed grazingCover crops & forageEquipment & on-farm energyCutting fossil-fuel inputsIntegrating livestock
Read on the source site

Suggest a resource

Educators and members: point us at a fact sheet, bulletin, or farm tour write-up. Hosts curate before it lands on the shelf — we need the outlink and author credit.

Attribution

Every card names the authors and publisher and links to their post, PDF, or project page. Summaries are written for the Exchange; they are not reprints.